News & Reports

Actor Tetsuya Bessho, president of Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia (SSFF & ASIA), one of Asia’s biggest international short film festivals accredited by the Academy Awards®︎, paid a courtesy visit to Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building on Monday, May 30th, 2023.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the International Competition, and the 20th anniversary of the Asia-Japan Competition co-sponsored by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government.

After Bessho’s presentation of this year’s  theme, “UNLOCK,” Governor Koike said, “We were able to reach each milestone safely, and we have continued to move forward despite the Covid crisis.I would like to express my sincere respect to the festival. Movies are full of people’s dreams, emotions, and connections. I look forward to it every year. We want you to “unlock” the 1200 days of the fight against Covid, and spread the charm and appeal of Tokyo to the world through short films. During the visit, SSFF & ASIA and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, in a continuing collaborated to convey the diverse elements of “Tokyo,” the Governor of Tokyo announced this year’s best short winner in this category. This year, there were 273 entries from all over the world, and 5 shorts were selected as finalists. “

The Best Short Award (Governor of Tokyo Award) went to Director Raymond Doan, who moved to Japan from the United States in 2014,for “Pieces of You.”  Bessho said, ”This love story between a foreign man living abroad and a woman living in Tokyo was full of the charm of Tokyo, like the scene where a woman relays Tokyo’s tourist spots to him live on his smartphone. The emotional rollercoaster of the two people was heart-pounding in this well produced short film.”

In addition, the 6th co-production short film project by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and this film festival was announced its completion. This year’s short film was produced under the concept of Sustainable Recovery and titled as ”My Wife’s Battery Is Dead“. It was directed by Kimi Yawata, who has won awards in the Japan Competition in the past, and featured Asami Usuda and Munetaka Aoki.

During this courtesy call, the trailer was shown for the first time, saying, “Tokyo must make sustainable energy so that its battery will not run out.” It is full of the everyday charms of Tokyo that you won’t find in guidebooks. In addition, it is very important to make the work “barrier-free” by using Japanese subtitles and audio guides as a way to increase methods of communication.” “My Wife’s Battery Is Dead” will be released on the festival YouTube channel and ”Pieces of You,”, which won the Cinematic Tokyo Competition Best Short Award, will be streamed worldwide today on the film festival’s online venue. From the 9th (Friday), it will be also ne screened at a film festival venue in Tokyo. After the courtesy visit, Bessho said, “After years of work, we have reached our 25th anniversary year. The appeal of short films is that they can convey a cinematic story in a short amount of time, and I would like to make the film festival a place where we can support such wonderful directors and screenwriters.” SSFF & ASIA has been co-sponsored by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government since 2016, and established the “Cinematic Tokyo Category” as a competition to spread the “Tokyo Brand,” a tourism goal of the Metropolitan Government. The award-winning work ”Pieces of You” will be awarded the Tokyo Governor’s Award at the award ceremony on June 26th (Monday).

Cinematic Tokyo Competition /　Governor of Tokyo Award　『Pieces of You』

Founded in 2017, the “Cinematic Tokyo” program showcases short films introducing the various charms of Tokyo.

273 short films were submitted from around the world and 5 were selected as the finalists. The Governor of Tokyo, Yuriko Koike announced the Best Short Award of this competition as “Pieces of You” today.

It starts global streaming today till July 10th as well as screening in Tokyo from June 9th to 26th.

『Pieces of You』

Director：Raymond Doan /Japan/ 21:23 / Drama / 2017

A young woman takes her guy with her to explore Tokyo.

The only catch is he doesn’t live in Japan and can only see

Tokyo through her smart phone. Distracted by falling in Love

with him, she lets down her best friend and has to figure out

what to do.　
https://shortshorts.org/2023/en/program/tokyo/pieces-of-you/

Sustainable Recovery Project Special Production Short Film　『My wife’s battery is dead』　

In 2022, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government (TMG) and the SSFF & ASIA) launched the “Sustainable Recovery Project.”

This project aims to create a short film that show the city of Tokyo, its residents, and the tourists who visit the city,

as part of the city’s efforts to become a sustainable city, and to show Tokyo’s diverse attractions to people in Japan and abroad. After screening the film (real venue and online) at SSFFA 2023, the film will be also used for tourism promotion

of Tokyo and other occasions. Through this project, TMG and SSFFA will give opportunities to award-winning filmmakers

 of the past SSFFA editions by letting them write and direct the short film, in order to promote and appeal the attraction of Tokyo both in Japan and abroad. By doing so, we will continue to raise the visibility of festival winners and foster young filmmakers.

『My wife’s battery is dead』　
Written & Directed by Kimi Yawata

Casts：Asami Usuda, Munetaka Aoki, Tatsumasa Murasame

Japan / 21:06 / Drama / 2023

Hana and Yusuke, a couple living in Tokyo, have been distant in their relationship after an incident three years ago, and spend more and more time alone. Unable to close the gap between them, the two are in a karaoke room unable to make up their minds regarding the divorce papers laid out in front of them.While Hana sings in desperation, Tokyo suffers a blackout due to a power shortage. At the same time, Hana suddenly collapses…

Sustainable Recovery Project (shortshorts.org)